HG

Saturday, January 22, 2011

MNP USERS EQUALS 0.75% only in HARYANA

If the experience in Haryana is anything to go by, mobile number portability has been off to a slow start with around 0.75% of the subscribers opting for the service since its launch in late November.

According to agencies dealing with portability, on an average, around 3,000 applications per day have been received so far. So, till now, over the 45-odd days since the launch of the service, around 1.35 lakh subscribers would have opted for MNP, which is 0.75% of the subscriber base of 1.77 crore at the end of October 2010.

Analysts pointed out that the number could be higher in metros and cities, which could also be the result of a campaign launched by the government and the telecom regulator, including the high-profile launch by PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

They also said that in a state like Haryana, where a sizeable number residing in Gurgaon and Faridabad were actually using Delhi mobile phones, congestion levels could be lower. A recent study conducted by Trai showed that the six operators in Haryana offered network availability that was above the 90% benchmark. Three of the operators, however, were below the 95% benchmark in customer satisfaction survey conducted by the regulator on accessibility and retainability and four put up a below par show on metering and billing.

Mobile number portability was delayed by several years due to lobbying by telecom companies and the lack of preparedness by the government. While launching the service in Haryana in November, the government had promised a national rollout by January 20 and it has managed to stick to it.

While launching the service, the Prime Minister said: "Till now, operators were competing to acquire new subscribers. But launch of MNP will force them to offer innovative and quality services to retain their subscribers." source